Cold Nights
by mamamvs
Summary: The nights have run cold for Lucy. When life takes a turn for her, she has to adapt to her newly way to live. With death knocking at her door, she must find a way to overcome her new challenges.


The sunshine hit Lucy's closed eyelids that were once full of darkness from a deep slumber. Hours before, she had been with her best friend Levy Mcgarden, for they were dancing around in her apartment celebrating the rebirth of Fairy Tail. A soft groan came from the blonde as she opened her eyes in discomfort. Of course, the mage did not want to leave the comfort of her bed. She felt like she was on an entire sea of clouds, for the warmth told her not to get out of bed. Turning to her side, she threw her right arm off the bed and slowly slid to the floor. Quiet purring came from a well known blue cat, gently sleeping by her bedside. A smile formed on her face, yet quickly faded once Lucy realized that a certain pink haired man wasn't in sight. Without questioning further, Lucy didn't hesitate to relax in a warm shower before heading to the guild.

When the warm water ran down her face, Lucy sighed in relief as she started to hum softly. The blonde shifting her hands over her hair with shampoo made her feel at ease like she was cleaning plate for a good mood for the day. The water ran through and rinsed off her body of what was left of any soap. She looked down, happy with how she felt. Grabbing a nearby towel and drying off, she struggled with her wet tangled hair as she combed her long blonde locks. Lucy kept humming along till putting on her favorite outfit for the day. A blue blouse, blue skirt, brown boots, and her celestial keys at her hip. Gazing in the mirror and satisfied with how she had felt, she clenched her fist and smiled widely. She was ready for the day.

Strolling outside after leaving her small apartment, she waved to the man she sees every morning. "Be careful Lucy! You don't want to fall of that ledge now", he shouted from across the river waving.

"Thank you! I will be!" She replied cheerfully.

With her arms stretched, she continued to walk down the ledge with a goofy smile plastered on her face. The wind started to blow, which she hopped down and looked at the water. Staring right back at her was a reflection of herself. Amazed with how the water reflected her so easily, she stared into her own big brown eyes. Lucy giggled softly to herself and continued on to one of her favorite places. A place where she saw the people who she held dearly, her family. When the guild doors where in sight, her pace picked up from a walk to a jog.

"Good morning, Love rival!" Said Juvia as Lucy went by. She smiled to the water mage when she heard her. As much as it was weird to be called 'love rival' Lucy replied, "Good Morning, Juvia!"

As she jogged by her, Juvia had a bouquet of blue roses in her hands. Lucy had assumed they were for Gray. Guild doors were swung open as Lucy walked up to them. She rolled her eyes and sighed, both Natsu and Gray fought as they came out. Wasn't any different from any other day, but they soon stopped as they spotted her. Gray had on a smile, while Natsu turned to face Lucy more, smiling widely seeing her. "Hey Lucy, good morning", Gray said cheerfully.

"Luce! Good morning", Natsu happily said to her. He was grabbing on to Gray's non-existing clothes and likewise, Gray had Natsu's scarf in hand. The blonde sighed knowing that things never change and that she usually would find them like this when they were together. Either way, she still laughed at their usual antics. Lucy pushed passed them, skipping in the guild, Natsu and Gray followed close behind her. Juvia ended up spotting Gray, which lead to her chasing after the ice mage. Natsu and Lucy started talking about which job they should take the group on next.

"Oh, I know, we should take a job where we have to fight a bunch of bad guys!" Natsu was filled with excitement. After Gray had lost Juvia, he rolled his eyes at the statement he had heard Natsu made. Secretly, he knew he wanted to beat up bad guys too. Although, he wanted a reason to do it unlike Natsu.

"Natsu, all you do is want to fight bad guys", Lucy responded back to the dragon slayer. His head tilted in question, not sure whether to respond to her or not. But before he could, she walked ahead from the two to the job board and skimmed over a few. Sadly, none of the jobs posted had taken her interest and she thought none of them would spark the others interest. She turned to get another opinions from her team mates, when suddenly the guild doors swung open and a figure ran in. When a scream pierced the air, everyone turned to see what had made the noise. It was Lisanna, dripping with blood and cut up from head to toe. Her siblings, Elfman and Mirajane, ran up to her in a panic. Tears were running down Lisanna's face as she was questioned by her siblings.

"She did it..." Lisanna whispered to Mirajane. Her sister looked at her with confusion. Lisanna growled in anger because her older sister couldn't understand her mutters.

"Who did it, Lisanna?" Elfman questioned her. Her hands shaking violently, she pointed to Lucy. She continued to growl at Lucy with fierce eyes.

"She did." Lisanna hissed. Lucy stepped back in shock and shook her head indicating that she knew nothing of what had happened to the mage. Everyone in the guild looked Lucy's way before yelling different things.

"How do you know she truly did it?"

"Did you see her?"

"Lucy would never do anything to hurt a friend!" Natsu yelled, team Natsu agreeing behind him.

"She has saved the guild multiple times!"

"Tell me Lisanna," Lucy grumbled underneath her breath, "What makes you believe that I even did it?! Tell me why would I ever do anything to her if I consider her family?" Lucy questioned the animal shifter. Lisanna's eyes narrowed to the blonde and turned blood shot.

Lisanna stood up, "because I'm taking Natsu from you. You're jealous and only care about yourself, you freak!" Lisanna screamed before hugging her sister. Everyone looked back at Lucy, but also questioned Lisanna's reasoning. Of course, deep down Lucy was jealous Natsu had been spending more time with Lisanna, but she'd never go to such lengths to kill or hurt her.

"I'm not jealous. You're friends, nor are Natsu and I dating. He can date who he pleases." Natsu looked up after Lucy finished. His face scrunched up and looked to the floor in discomfort.

"Who else would do it to her if you didn't?" Mirajane questioned, knowing that Lucy could never do such a thing. Yet, at the same time had to care for her sister when she needed it the most.

"I have no idea," Lucy replied, "your guess is as good as mine". Just then, Makarov stepped out of his office.

Despondent washed across his face, he let out a liberating sigh and cleared his throat. "Lucy Heartfilia, I have to protect my children. I'm sorry but we are letting you go. Even if it wasn't you, I can't stand by and believe that if you truly did do it, that it could happen to someone else", he said dominated by a profound sadness in his voice. Tears formed in Lucy's eyes. Her whole body shaking as she was trying to process what happened. Levy ran to her side, holding her hand. Natsu followed Levy, behind them trailed Erza and Gray. They wanted to believe Lucy, but they all knew that deep down, Makarov wouldn't change his mind on her leaving.

Her heels turned, bending the floor boards under her feet with rage, and she stormed out ripping her hands away from Natsu and Levy. Tears were dripping from her fragile face. With each step, she hated everything and her anger grew the closer she got to the door. Not only did she lose everything, but she lost the man she loved the most. Nausea swirled in her unrestrained empty stomach. Her arm slammed on the wood door, but her tears continued to drop from her face. Her insatiable fire that burned deep within her stomach was enough to leave her feeling listless and empty.

When she arrived home, she slid down her door and cried into her arms. Soft sobs could be heard throughout the apartment. She had felt like her heart had been ripped out of her body and thrown to the floor, her cries only got louder the more she thought about everything she had lost within one day. Minutes had dragged by, every given second was a bigger hold in her heart. After her sobs had went down, a bright yellow flash appeared in front of her. Loke stood there with his eyes to the floor. "I heard what happened Lucy. I'm sorry for what happened..." he said. Unsure what to say, Lucy sat there quietly and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what to do or where to go after that. Loke slowly sat down in front of her. Trying his best to comfort her, but he soon realized it wouldn't work. He sighed and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm here if you need me okay? I have to go back. Stay strong." He said leaving in a bright flash. Lucy fell to her side and still crying to herself. Wasn't till after she had stopped crying that she'd soon fall into a deep sleep.

A week has passed since Lucy had been released from Fairy Tail. Nothing around the guild was the same. People mostly stayed quiet. Some just came in and got a job. However, team Natsu was taking Lucy's leaving the hardest. Gray never really left the guild and Ezra was never interested on going on a job. Natsu would come in, take a seat and sit there with his head down. The three of them have tried to bring Lucy back but their attempts failed. Makarov wouldn't allow it as much as he wanted to. He knew that if she truly hurt someone in the guild, he'd hate himself for even keeping her in it. His response to them was always, "It's better to be safe than

As darkness had been surrendered by light, it was early morning and Natsu walked into the guild. His head low to the floor and his eyes drifting with every foot stop. He only gazed up when he heard laughter coming towards him. It was Lisanna, she'd had been healing nicely. She had a giant grin on her face and the closer she got to Natsu, the larger it had spread. Natsu exhaled cautiously and put on a smile, "Hey Lis, it's nice to see that you're healing good", he said as she stopped in front of him.

"Oh! Thank you, I agree. They were pretty bad thanks to Lucy. But since she has left, I haven't gone through any trouble. Seems like she has learned her lesson. That means others in the guild won't get hurt!" She said while she cross her arms and smiled largely. Of course, Natsu was heartbroken since Lucy was gone, nor did he really try to go to her apartment and speak to her. He wasn't sure what to do. He looked down at the floor and replied, "Yeah... I guess she has".

"Hey, do you maybe want to grab a bite to eat?" Lisanna asked Natsu happily. The dragon slayer looked up in surprise, but he knew he wouldn't pass up free food. He nodded and they left the guild. Exhaling in short breaths, Happy leaned his head down to the table and closed his eyes, but he couldn't find any resurgence. His mind was racing about the events that had happened. Carla looked at him and he couldn't help but tell her what he was thinking.

"I think Lisanna is lying. I'm going to go see Lucy. I'll see you later." He said and flew out of the guild. Happy exhaled once more and lifted his head to the sky, he didn't care if Carla questioned his actions or not. He would go see Lucy with or without anyone knowing.


End file.
